Repubblika is concerned by reports that Adrian Agius, who is serving a life sentence for his role in the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia and the murder of Carmel Chircop, was found in possession of a laptop with internet access inside prison.
If these reports are accurate, we are dealing with an extremely serious situation. A person convicted of one of the gravest crimes in Malta’s recent history appears to have had access to means of communication and privileges that should never have been possible within a secure correctional facility.
The public has a right to know how this situation came about, who enabled it, who failed to prevent it, and whether any criminal offences were committed in allowing it to happen and continue.
For this reason, an internal inquiry is not enough.
The issue is not merely whether prison rules or administrative procedures were breached. There are serious grounds to ask whether criminal offences may have been committed. In these circumstances, the case should be investigated by independent authorities with the power to gather evidence, identify those responsible, and take the necessary steps to bring them to justice.
The authorities’ response cannot stop at an internal exercise that risks appearing more concerned with managing political embarrassment than establishing the full truth.
There is also a bitter irony in all this.
The Minister responsible for the police and prisons today is Glenn Bedingfield. For many years, when journalists, investigators and citizens were demanding truth and justice for the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, Glenn Bedingfield mocked those efforts with his recurring question: “Where is the laptop?” The answer to his taunt is one that few would have expected.
The country deserves more than an internal inquiry. The country deserves a full, independent and transparent criminal investigation.